Appendix 5: The Significance And Application Of Ayat At-Tat-hir
أية التطهير
Note: This is the fifth of a series of articles written by the Author on various occasions that have bearing on the topics of the book, and hence they have been included in it as appendices.
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إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
“…. Verily, verily, God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanliness O' ye the people of the house and purify you with thorough purification.” (33:33)
In the beginning of this treatise, it has been painted out that ‘deen’ (religion) means the ‘submissive attitude’ of human conscience towards the ‘sacred object’. What refers to submissiveness is subjective, and what refers to the sacredness of the object is the objective aspect. The state of submissiveness is a question of degree. The sacredness of the object is in accordance with the excellence of attributes considered in the object.
Submissiveness varies in degree in. accordance with the notion of the excellent attribute in the object. The absolute submission is in accord with the realization of absolute perfection of the object as absolutely superior in all excellent attributes. As such the subjective and objective aspects are inter-related, the higher the notion of perfection in an object the greater will be the degree of submission and vice versa.
This reciprocal relation is based on the limit of man's ego-centre. The wider the potentiality, the higher will be the notion of sacredness. An absolute perfect object can only be manifested in an absolute submissive centre. This means that the purity of man's ego-centre from all limited notions of the object is requited for the manifestation of the Absolute One, All Pure and All Perfect.
The purity of ego-centre of an individual depends on the purity of the lineage from which the individual is developed. The lineage in question includes both human genealogical chain and the pre-human stages of the development from primal matter upwards leading towards human being. Every individual from all species will reach the final stage of perfection in accordance with the extent of the purity of lineage from which it has developed.
If we suppose human species as the most developed, complex conscious being, it will necessarily imply the utmost purity and refinedness in human lineage in comparison to other living species. The same principle applies to every individual man. The purer the lineage, the wider will be its ego-centre, which will have a higher notion of the Absolute One.
Therefore, among the human race there must be one lineage that is purer than the other lineages, so that there should be of that lineage a continuous chain of individuals with the purest ego-centre in order to have the highest possible notion of the Absolute, Unlimited One.
The Negative And Positive Aspects Required In The Conception Of Purity
Whatever narrows down the ego-centre towards material and temporal objects is a hindrance which affects submissiveness. The Qur'an terms it as ‘rijs’ (رجْسَ) and whatever action or notion causes the widening of the ego-centre to have a better manifestation of the Absolute One is termed by the Qur'an as taharah (طهارة):
فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَٰلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
“Whomsoever God intends to guide, He expands his breast for Islam (to submit his self to His will) and whomsoever he intends to leave straying, He makes (his) breast strained and narrow as if they had to climb up to the skies: Thus, God puts dirt (rijs) on those who disbelieve.” (6:125)
Those who lack faith are termed as 'rijs' due to the perversion and narrowness in their ego-centre as opposed to those whose ego-centre has been widened to receive guidance from God for their submissiveness1.
سَيَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ لَكُمْ إِذَا انْقَلَبْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لِتُعْرِضُوا عَنْهُمْ فَأَعْرِضُوا عَنْهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ رِجْسٌ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
“They will swear unto you by God, when ye return unto them, that ye may turn aside from them, so do turn aside from them; verily they are (filthy) and their abode is hell; a recompense for what they did earn.” (9:95)
The hypocrites have been termed as ‘rijs' (رجْسَ) for their shaky faith and hypocritical attitude. In the same chapter, the unhealthy mind of the hypocrites is termed as inherent ‘rijs’ which converts the external guidance given by the prophets into further impurity.
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَتْهُمْ رِجْسًا إِلَىٰ رِجْسِهِمْ وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كَافِرُونَ
“And as for those in whose hearts is a disease (loathsome filth), it addeth unto them (further) filth (to their inherent filth) and they shall die while they are infidels.” (9:125)
In chapter 5 (sura al-Ma’idah), intoxicants, gambling, idols, and divining arrows2 are termed as 'rijs' wrought by Satan in order to create enmity and vengeance among the people and to divert their mind from the remembrance of God and prayer. A thorough study of these verses proves the fact that whichever mental process or physical action diverts the ego-centre of man towards temporal and sensual desires is rijs3.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O’ ye who believe (a fact and nothing else) that intoxicants and games of chance (dedication of) stones (i.e. idols) and (divination by) arrows, are only loathsome filth wrought by Satan so be away from it so that ye may be successful.” (5:90)
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُنْتَهُونَ
“The Satan only desireth to cause enmity and hatred in your midst through intoxicants and gambling, and keep you away from remembering God and from prayer; will ye then abstain (from them)?” (5:91)
On the other hand, whatever widens the egocentre of man towards the submission to the Absolute One and His Will is termed as purity such as prayer, spiritual cleanliness (which is called tawba), the physical cleanliness of body and dress which is essential for the prayer. It is obvious that there are degrees of such impurity and purity.
The highest degree of purity means to be kept constantly aloof from all the causes of impurity. This is termed as the state of infallibility in knowledge, character and action. Such a state of absolute infallibility should be possible and applicable to a particular group of humanity.
The Divine Order that makes one avoid the causes of impurity and adhere to the conditions of purity may be addressed to all in general. But in real life, the application of the order will be confined to those who are really carrying out the order. For example, the order for prayer and ablution applies to mankind, but the real application is confined to those who carry out the order.
In this sense all Divine Orders and precepts given to man through the prophets are general, but there are certain instances where God confines expressively His order to certain individuals or groups of people, excluding the rest of mankind from it. In these instances, whether the Divine Will is legislative or creative makes no difference.
In the instance of Chapter. 5. Verse 56 and Ch.33 verse 33 (Ayat at-Tat-hir) the order may be interpreted as manifestation of the legislative or creative will of God, but the application is exclusive. It should necessarily be true of those who are included in the order, otherwise the order will be meaningless.
وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ
“And whoso taketh Allah and His messenger and those who believe for guardian (will know that), lo! The party of Allah, they are the victorious.” (5:56)
وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
“And stay ye in your abodes and display not your finery like the display of the ignorance yore and establish ye prayer and give away the poor-rate, and obey God and His apostle, Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) filth O’ ye the people of the house and purify you (with) a thorough purification.” (33:33)
The Divine Will mentioned the verse 33:33 - after the exclusive particle ‘Innama’ - has no application except to the holy Ahl Al-Bayt. Whether the Will is of creative or legislative nature, it makes no difference.
The Inseparability Of The Qur’an And The Ahl Al-Bayt
These entities, ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’, are purified and honoured by God directly in the same stage wherein the divine book has been purified and honoured. 'The Qur’anic verses prove the equal standing of both the Book and the Ahl Al-Bayt. From sura al-Waqi’ah:
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ
“But nay I sewar by the setting of the stars,” (56:75)
وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ
“And verily it is a great oath ye only knew it,” (56:76)
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
“Verily it is Qur’an honourable,” (56:77)
فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ
“In a Book hidden,” (56:78)
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
“Toucheth it not, save the purified ones.” (56:79)
تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Sent down by the Lord of the worlds.” (56:80)
From Sura al-‘Abasa:
فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ
“(It is written) in the Books greatly honoured.” (80:13)
مَرْفُوعَةٍ مُطَهَّرَةٍ
“Exalted high, purified,” (80:14)
بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ
“In the hands of the Deputy Angels,” (80:15)
كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ
“Noble, virtuous.” (80:16)
From surah al-Bayyinah:
لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ مُنْفَكِّينَ حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ
“Those who disbelieved from among the people of the Book and the polytheists could not have separated themselves (from the falsehood!) until came unto them the Clear Evidence,” (98:1)
رَسُولٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُطَهَّرَةً
“(In the) Apostle from God reciting (unto them) purified Scripture,” (98:2)
فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ
“Wherein are the decrees (correct and) strong.” (98:3)
In the above verse 56:79, God declares Ahl Al-Bayt as the persons purified by Him to be constantly in touch with the 'Qur'an in its original, hidden, well-protected, exalted and purified form. This fact has been explained and supported by the celebrated statements of the Holy Prophet, narrated by the large number of his companions to the effect that he was leaving behind two inseparable precious entities among his followers i.e. the Book of God and his ‘itrah (Ahl Al-Bayt) and that whosoever adheres to the two shall be saved from going astray.
But to reduce the significance of this statement, and to counter the above declaration made by the Holy Prophet another statement has also been narrated from the Holy Prophet on the authority of Abu Huraira whose reliability has always remained questionable. In his narration, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “I have left among you two things; if you adhere to them both you shall not go astray after me, i.e., the Book of God and my Sunnah”.
The text itself does not stand a sound critical scrutiny. There is no doubt that Sunnah in the sense of the Holy Prophet's sayings, actions and endorsements has the same authoritative status as the Qur’an, but the issue is that the Qur'an was in a written form and was distinctly recorded - to be referred to - while the Holy Prophet's Sunnah was then not yet recorded in a distinct form to be adhered to whenever disputes would arise.
On the contrary, the disputants used to take advantage of the unrecorded 'Sunnah’ against each other. Therefore, to declare such a controversial source to have the same authoritative status as the Qur'an would not only be meaningless, but it would also mean encouraging controversies. The term ‘itrah or Ahl Al-Bayt was well-defined and known to everybody as the embodiment of teachings of the Holy Prophet.
In short, to follow Sunnah as it is in our hand will lead to controversies and errors, but to follow itrah along with the Qur'an would mean following the kitab and Sunnah in its true sense, which would save the adherents from going astray and committing errors. Therefore, we shall leave the tradition of Abu Hurairah to himself and his followers.
Regarding the disputes about the personalities to whom the term Ahl Al-Bayt or itrah has been applied, there is hardly any need for discussion. The application of the term in question to the nearest members of the house of prophet through whom the holy house was established and continued to last forever is undoubtedly unquestionable. They are the persons to whom reference has been made as abna-a-na (our sons) nisa-a-na (our women), anfusana (our souls).
فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
“And unto him who disputeth with Thee, therein after the knowledge hath come unto thee, Say (O’ our apostle Muhammad) (unto them), “come ye, let us summon our sons, and (ye summon) your sons, and (we summon) our women and (ye) your women, and (we summon) ourselves and (ye) your selves and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the liars.” (3:61)
The traditions and historical reports are unanimous that they are none but Hasan, Al-Husayn, Fatimah and Ali. It is true that through Fatimah and Ali the ‘house of prophet’ was established, and their progeny continued to propagate until now. They are the certified members of the house of prophet and the certified members of Aali Ibrahim from the Ismailite branch. The efforts of some Muslim antagonists and writers to include the wives of the Holy Prophet or his other relatives in the term itrah and Ahl Al-Bayt are uncalled-for and are against the verdict of the Qur’an and sayings of the Holy Prophet.
The Ahl Al-Bayt mentioned in the verse 33:33 includes none but Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Al-Husayn and the other nine imams of the descendants of Imam Al-Husayn (‘a) who possess the same excellence of infallibility. The wives of Holy Prophet, who remained childless cannot be included in it as the wives of prophet - though they are respected and are of high standard, yet there were other women who could be better than them.
عَسَىٰ رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَاجًا خَيْرًا مِنْكُنَّ مُسْلِمَاتٍ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ قَانِتَاتٍ تَائِبَاتٍ عَابِدَاتٍ سَائِحَاتٍ ثَيِّبَاتٍ وَأَبْكَارًا
“Haply his Lord, if he divorceth you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, repentant, observers of fast, widows and virgins.” (66:5)
They cannot have the same position as Ahl Al-Bayt. Otherwise, the word ‘innama’(امامة) in verse 33:33 would be meaningless.
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
“Ye are the best group that hath been brought forth for mankind: ye enjoin goodness and ye forbid evil, and ye believe in God; And if the people of the Book had (also) believed (similarly) it had surely been better for them; of them (only some) are believers and most of them are perverse.” (3:110)
As such, the term khair al-Ummah (خَيْر الأُمَّة) in the above verse is only applicable to the Ahl Al-Bayt and none can lay claim to it or the leadership incumbent on khair al-Ummah in the verse below.
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
“And there should be among you a group who call (mankind) unto virtue and enjoin what is good and forbid wrong; and these are they who should be successful.” (3:104)
The other relatives of the Holy Prophet, even of Hashimite house on whom sadaqa (charity) is forbidden, do not come under the definition of Ayat at-Tat-hir and Ayat al-Mubahila. Of the descendants of Ali and Fatimah, also, all do not come under the term in its strict sense. It applies only to the eleven imams of the house who have been certified to possess the requisite qualification and absolute purification.
Even the inclusion of fallible persons of the house of Holy Prophet and the house of Hashim in Ayat al-Muwaddatul-Qurba below is questionable because the love is questionable because the love on account of nearness to the Holy Prophet merely in blood or faith cannot be the reward for 'risalat' unless there is nearness in blood as well as spiritual attainment.
ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ ۗ
“This is what God gives, as good tidings to those servants of His who believe and do right deeds: Say (O' Prophet) I do not ask you any reward for it (the mission) save the love for the sake of nearness (to me or to God) ....” (42:23)
They should be originated from the same light from which the Holy Prophet has been originated. As tradition asserts, the number of such infallible personalities after the Holy Prophet who succeeded as his vicegerents is limited to twelve
For a detailed discussion of this passage, the readers may refer to the author's treatise, Introduction to the Qur'an4.
- 1. This term ‘rijs’ has also been applied to those who lack sound reasoning.
وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَيَجْعَلُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
“And (although) it is not for any soul to believe except by God’s permission; while casteth He uncleanliness (of infidelity) on those who use not (their) sense.” (10:100)
- 2. It was a practice among the Arabs to foretell the future by using arrows [Note by al-Islam.org]
- 3. It is noteworthy that the learned translators of the Qur’an did not select one word. The words used for rijs are abomination, uncleanliness, impurity, loathsome filth and dirt, which they deemed appropriate according to the context. Moreover, it should be realized that rijs in its usages signifies one and the same sense as the author has explained in his works.
- 4. Under the topic Muhkam and Mutasbabehat.